Kellogg recalls peanut butter products

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Kellogg Co. Saturday said it is recalling some products containing peanut butter that "have the potential" to be linked to a U.S. Salmonella outbreak.

The items being recalled include some Austin and Keebler brand Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies "because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella," the company said in a news release posted on its Web site.

No other products were involved in the recall, Kellogg said.

The company announced Wednesday it was putting a "precautionary hold" on several Austin and Keebler peanut butter crackers while it investigated the source of the peanut filling.

The Food and Drug Administration Saturday urged consumers to hold off for now on eating foods containing peanut butter until they can determine whether such foods contain products made by the Peanut Corp. of America, CNN reported.

The FDA said Wednesday peanut butter produced by that company was being investigated as a source of a multistate Salmonella outbreak. The outbreak has resulted in the deaths of at least six people and almost 500 were sickened.

Peanut Corp. of America is one of several peanut paste suppliers Kellogg used in Austin and Keebler branded peanut butter sandwich crackers.

"The actions we are taking today are in keeping with our more than 100-year commitment to providing consumers with safe, high-quality products," Kellogg Co. President and Chief Executive Officer David Mackay said Saturday. "We apologize for this unfortunate situation."

The Battle Creek, Mich., company said Wednesday it had not received any consumer illness complaints about the products.

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